Tainted by human rights and corruption scandals, President Alberto Fujimori carefully got himself beyond the reach of Peruvian prosecution before abruptly resigning Monday. It will be up to Peru's newly elected Congress, dominated by opposition politicians, to hold the nation's economy and shaken democracy together. Fujimori had announced he would resign before a new election April 8.

More than a month after then-President Alberto Fujimori fled Peru, plunging the nation into constitutional chaos, the new leaders are still struggling to restore order. They have launched ambitious reform efforts but have been stymied by the bureaucratic inertia that has plagued the government since long before Fujimori became president 10 years ago.

Tens of thousands of Peruvians hit by a devastating earthquake scrambled for scarce tents, food and warm clothing Monday as the death toll lurched higher. The national civil defense agency said that 97 people had been reported killed--39 of them in a tidal wave triggered by Saturday's fierce quake--and that more than 46,400 people were homeless. "The toll is going up because we're getting reports in from isolated areas," spokesman Jose Carlos Portocarrero said.

April 15, 2001 | Michael Shifter, Michael Shifter is vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue and teaches Latin American politics at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service

On July 28, 1985, Alan Garcia became Peru's youngest-ever president at 35 and promised an era of social progress and democratic renewal. Instead, he left the country in near-ruin, with both inflation and political violence reaching unprecedented levels. Yet, despite this shameful record, it is conceivable that Garcia, now 51, may get another chance to lead Peru on July 28, 2001.

June 25, 2001 | NATALIA TARNAWIECKI and JAMES F. SMITH, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Thousands of people left homeless by the year's most powerful earthquake huddled in town squares Sunday and pleaded for tents, blankets and food as dozens more aftershocks shook cities and villages across southern Peru. With the official death toll climbing to 71, soldiers scoured isolated mountain villages for more victims and distributed the first relief aid to protect people from the near-freezing nights of the Southern Hemisphere winter. Earlier Sunday, John Minsch, a geophysicist at the U.

Two traditional politicians appeared headed for a runoff after Guatemala's presidential election Sunday as preliminary results showed voters rejecting a former dictator accused of genocide. Oscar Berger, 57, a conservative former Guatemala City mayor backed by some of the country's most powerful businessmen, was ahead in the polls. In second place was Alvaro Colom, 51, a moderate who once served as vice minister of economics.

November 26, 2000 | Michael Shifter, Michael Shifter is senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue and teaches Latin American politics at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service

In the end, Peru's notorious strongman was scared. During his decade-long presidency, Alberto Fujimori projected supreme confidence, bordering on invincibility. But mounting accusations of corruption and the rapid meltdown of his regime forced him to retreat to Japan, where he resigned with a whimper.

November 17, 2000 | SEBASTIAN ROTELLA and NATALIA TARNAWIECKI, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

In another blow to the fading power of President Alberto Fujimori, Peru's Congress on Thursday elected its first anti-Fujimori leader in eight years. The leadership grab by the emboldened opposition was a big step toward a potential attempt to oust Fujimori, who continued a trip to Asia on Thursday despite fears that he will be forced out before presidential elections he has set for April.

November 20, 2000 | SEBASTIAN ROTELLA and NATALIA TARNAWIECKI, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori announced from Japan on Sunday that he will resign within two days, bringing to a chaotic end his dramatic 10 years in power. In a brief written statement distributed by an aide in a Tokyo hotel where the president was taking refuge, Fujimori confirmed statements by officials in Lima, the Peruvian capital, that he will step down to speed the political transition of a nation mired in turmoil and scandal. "President Alberto Fujimori confirmed . . .

After a marathon debate that became an outpouring of accumulated rage and political grudges, Peru's Congress on Tuesday rejected President Alberto Fujimori's resignation and instead ousted him on the grounds that he is morally unfit to hold office. The ouster was the political equivalent of an indictment and conviction, a symbolic punishment of Fujimori for the collapse of his scandal-plagued regime and for his decision Monday to resign while in Japan and take refuge there.